Minus the Bear [Narrative]
Who: Tatsuki
What: Protecting the welcome house from America's greatest enemy
Where: Eastern Welcome House, her and Yosuke's room
When: Semi-concurrent with this post
Warnings: All that comes with a 1250 pound bear.
"Hang on," she said into the communicator, "I'm gonna give it a try."
Distract it with steak. That seemed logical enough, and combined with the plan Yosuke had so politely shot down, it seemed almost foolproof. She just had to get it out of the way so she could carve an exit into the wall, then lure it out of the room. It was a simple plan, in theory. The best laid plans of mice and men, however, gang aft agley. What that last part means, Tatsuki was about to find out for herself.
She opened the bathroom door, slowly and carefully, so as not to rouse the creature as she focused on a corner of the room opposite the exterior wall. It didn't take long for a familiar shape to form - a ten ounce steak strip, resting on a plate with a side of mashed potatoes, that, while it would be a meal to her, was likely a light snack for a polar bear. Of course, no matter how paltry, it was enough to get its attention simply on the strength of its smell. While the bear sniffed curiously at the bait, Tatsuki made her way to the other side of the room and attempted to bend the wall down. She stared at it long and hard, focusing on it with all her will, but it just didn't budge.
At least, not before she was noticed.
Snarling at her, the massive beast reared up on its hind legs and let out a monstrous roar. She knew what that meant. She had to book it back to the safety of the bathroom. Out of the corner of her eye, however, she noticed something. In a split second, she made the decision to grab the box containing her blade and then dove frantically for the door, slamming it shut behind her.
On her way into the bathroom, she noticed the steak had gone untouched.
_____
An hour passed.
Sure, it had gone for the steak eventually, but by then it was a moot point. It was only after she'd gone back into hiding, and even then, she couldn't get the walls to bend away. She opened up the box to take a look at the blade. It was still the same thirty-by-one-inch rectangle she'd left it. When Lelouch told her it would be more than she could handle to make a sword at first, he'd inadvertently set the bar for her right from the get-go, and the first time she attempted to bend, that was exactly what she tried to do. As was obvious, he was right... but she'd been practicing since then.
With all the focus she could muster, she closed her eyes, and slowly, the blade began to reshape itself. The edge began to curve from what was essentially an overlong straight razor into the more traditional shape of a katana. From its base, a simple guard, consisting of a ring attached to the center by seven thin, triangular spokes, formed, and from its center, a handle extended. After five minutes of sweat and concentration, she was finally able to stop and catch her breath.
_____
Another hour.
She'd had plenty of time to figure this out. If she couldn't bend the wall down, she knew she had to break it down. She also knew that was going to be slightly difficult with only a katana. Difficult, but not impossible. She'd seen for herself what Ichigo could do with a sword. If she could pull that off, she could open the wall up without even crossing the room. What did he call that trick again? Getsuga... getsuga... something. It wasn't coming to her.
Still, she was determined to get out. She had to. She tucked her cellphone into her pocket and opened the bathroom door one more time, sword at the ready. She had to go for it. With only her blade and her will to live protecting her, she took her stance.
The bear almost seemed to be waiting for her. The two eyed each other warily, before it made a dive at her. She ducked to her left, quickly circling around behind it. Putting all her focus into the blade, she sliced vertically at the wall, and to her complete surprise, it worked. The wall was cut. The bear wasn't going to squeeze out through a razor-thin slit, however, so there was still work to do. She went for a horizontal cut starting at the top of the first line, but for whatever reason, nothing happened. She'd swung with all her will the first time, but the second, assuming it would just work again, she'd let her guard down, and there was now an angry bear right behind her.
She turned around just as it reared back for its assault. She jabbed out wildly and defensively with her blade, leaving a few cuts in the bear's hide, but only making it angrier in the process. She wasn't about to let herself die here. She couldn't. She had to make it. She had to tell Orihime her awesome story about how she fought a bear and lived. She had to rub it in Yosuke's face that her plan totally worked. She'd faced way deadlier, way scarier things than any human had a right to survive, and she was not about to go down to a freaking bear.
Its claw swung down, colliding with a resounding gong against Tatsuki's shield.
Her katana had transfigured itself into what was, for all intents and purposes, a riot shield lined with sharp edges. She crouched behind it, allowing the bear to strike futilely at it. When it tried to reach around to get at her, the bladed edge cut into its paws, to which it reacted by pulling back. When she had room to maneuver, Tatsuki slammed the edge of the shield through the wall, carving out a second slit parallel to the first, then immediately yanked it out, before repeating that action with the top edge, connecting the lines at the top, bringing it back down just as the beast dove at her one more time. It collided face-first with the steel surface, knocking Tatsuki back into the now-weakened wall. The force of the collision cracked the cut-out section, as well as a couple of ribs, but she held her ground. Circling around beside the bear, keeping the shield facing it, she quickly gave the crumbling section of wall one more forceful slam, against which it could no longer hold. When it finally collapsed, the bear, still dazed from the collision, wandered over the rubble and out into the wild.
Dropping the katana - had she changed it back herself? She was too out of it to tell - she collapsed into a heap on the bed. She made one quick call on her cell before exhaustion got the best of her.
"Oi, Yosuke-kun. Told you I'd make it work. Now help me out, we got a hole to fix."
What: Protecting the welcome house from America's greatest enemy
Where: Eastern Welcome House, her and Yosuke's room
When: Semi-concurrent with this post
Warnings: All that comes with a 1250 pound bear.
"Hang on," she said into the communicator, "I'm gonna give it a try."
Distract it with steak. That seemed logical enough, and combined with the plan Yosuke had so politely shot down, it seemed almost foolproof. She just had to get it out of the way so she could carve an exit into the wall, then lure it out of the room. It was a simple plan, in theory. The best laid plans of mice and men, however, gang aft agley. What that last part means, Tatsuki was about to find out for herself.
She opened the bathroom door, slowly and carefully, so as not to rouse the creature as she focused on a corner of the room opposite the exterior wall. It didn't take long for a familiar shape to form - a ten ounce steak strip, resting on a plate with a side of mashed potatoes, that, while it would be a meal to her, was likely a light snack for a polar bear. Of course, no matter how paltry, it was enough to get its attention simply on the strength of its smell. While the bear sniffed curiously at the bait, Tatsuki made her way to the other side of the room and attempted to bend the wall down. She stared at it long and hard, focusing on it with all her will, but it just didn't budge.
At least, not before she was noticed.
Snarling at her, the massive beast reared up on its hind legs and let out a monstrous roar. She knew what that meant. She had to book it back to the safety of the bathroom. Out of the corner of her eye, however, she noticed something. In a split second, she made the decision to grab the box containing her blade and then dove frantically for the door, slamming it shut behind her.
On her way into the bathroom, she noticed the steak had gone untouched.
_____
An hour passed.
Sure, it had gone for the steak eventually, but by then it was a moot point. It was only after she'd gone back into hiding, and even then, she couldn't get the walls to bend away. She opened up the box to take a look at the blade. It was still the same thirty-by-one-inch rectangle she'd left it. When Lelouch told her it would be more than she could handle to make a sword at first, he'd inadvertently set the bar for her right from the get-go, and the first time she attempted to bend, that was exactly what she tried to do. As was obvious, he was right... but she'd been practicing since then.
With all the focus she could muster, she closed her eyes, and slowly, the blade began to reshape itself. The edge began to curve from what was essentially an overlong straight razor into the more traditional shape of a katana. From its base, a simple guard, consisting of a ring attached to the center by seven thin, triangular spokes, formed, and from its center, a handle extended. After five minutes of sweat and concentration, she was finally able to stop and catch her breath.
_____
Another hour.
She'd had plenty of time to figure this out. If she couldn't bend the wall down, she knew she had to break it down. She also knew that was going to be slightly difficult with only a katana. Difficult, but not impossible. She'd seen for herself what Ichigo could do with a sword. If she could pull that off, she could open the wall up without even crossing the room. What did he call that trick again? Getsuga... getsuga... something. It wasn't coming to her.
Still, she was determined to get out. She had to. She tucked her cellphone into her pocket and opened the bathroom door one more time, sword at the ready. She had to go for it. With only her blade and her will to live protecting her, she took her stance.
The bear almost seemed to be waiting for her. The two eyed each other warily, before it made a dive at her. She ducked to her left, quickly circling around behind it. Putting all her focus into the blade, she sliced vertically at the wall, and to her complete surprise, it worked. The wall was cut. The bear wasn't going to squeeze out through a razor-thin slit, however, so there was still work to do. She went for a horizontal cut starting at the top of the first line, but for whatever reason, nothing happened. She'd swung with all her will the first time, but the second, assuming it would just work again, she'd let her guard down, and there was now an angry bear right behind her.
She turned around just as it reared back for its assault. She jabbed out wildly and defensively with her blade, leaving a few cuts in the bear's hide, but only making it angrier in the process. She wasn't about to let herself die here. She couldn't. She had to make it. She had to tell Orihime her awesome story about how she fought a bear and lived. She had to rub it in Yosuke's face that her plan totally worked. She'd faced way deadlier, way scarier things than any human had a right to survive, and she was not about to go down to a freaking bear.
Its claw swung down, colliding with a resounding gong against Tatsuki's shield.
Her katana had transfigured itself into what was, for all intents and purposes, a riot shield lined with sharp edges. She crouched behind it, allowing the bear to strike futilely at it. When it tried to reach around to get at her, the bladed edge cut into its paws, to which it reacted by pulling back. When she had room to maneuver, Tatsuki slammed the edge of the shield through the wall, carving out a second slit parallel to the first, then immediately yanked it out, before repeating that action with the top edge, connecting the lines at the top, bringing it back down just as the beast dove at her one more time. It collided face-first with the steel surface, knocking Tatsuki back into the now-weakened wall. The force of the collision cracked the cut-out section, as well as a couple of ribs, but she held her ground. Circling around beside the bear, keeping the shield facing it, she quickly gave the crumbling section of wall one more forceful slam, against which it could no longer hold. When it finally collapsed, the bear, still dazed from the collision, wandered over the rubble and out into the wild.
Dropping the katana - had she changed it back herself? She was too out of it to tell - she collapsed into a heap on the bed. She made one quick call on her cell before exhaustion got the best of her.
"Oi, Yosuke-kun. Told you I'd make it work. Now help me out, we got a hole to fix."